Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0637 Terrifying Speculations

Hermione did indeed notice the dismay that had appeared upon Harry's face like a dark cloud. She had carefully considered how her words would impact him emotionally, knowing that shattering his illusions about Fleur's true intentions for asking him to the Yule Ball would be a heavy blow.

However, as much as it felt bad for her to see her best friend sad, Hermione firmly believed that allowing Harry to remain oblivious to the likely truth would be even more unacceptable.

"Harry--" Seeing the desolation etched across Harry's face, Hermione gently placed her right hand on his arm in a comforting gesture and called out his name softly.

"Oh, I'm fine--" Lost in his own thoughts, it took a moment for Harry to register the pressure of Hermione's hand clutching his arm through his robes.

Despite the sting of having his hopes and excitement deflated so abruptly, Harry had no anger towards Hermione for bursting his bubble. Mustering a weak smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Harry tried to brush off the whole situation. "I just find this whole thing a bit ridiculous--"

Now that Ron and Harry had both come around to agreeing with Hermione's speculation about Fleur's motives, an uncertain tension hung in the air between the three.

What was the proper thing to do next?

Should Harry go out to find Fleur and inform her that he no longer wanted to accompany her to the Christmas ball?

The very idea that Fleur had simply wanted to find someone, anyone, to make Professor Watson jealous struck Harry as almost laughably absurd. Even Ron, who could be rather dense when it came to matters of the heart, wouldn't believe for a second that Professor Watson would get enraged with embarrassment over this. Harry's recounting of the event tonight and Professor Watson's casual smile had already explained everything.

However, neither Hermione nor Ron had any intention of interfering with or trying to sway Harry's decision. They both believed that it was up to Harry to do what he wanted. They would support him no matter what, but they wouldn't make this choice for him.

Sensing the heavy atmosphere and wanting to steer the conversation in a more fruitful direction, Ron deliberately injected some much-needed cheerfulness into his voice as he changed the subject.

"Let's talk about what Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson are concerned about!" he said with renewed spirit, as his eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity. "They're investigating the Dark Mark, right? Do you think they've found any clues?"

Hermione looked at Ron with appreciation. She was well aware that Ron's bringing up of this topic now wasn't just out of curiosity.

The trio's minds drifted back to that terrifying night at the Quidditch World Cup, when the eerie green skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue had appeared in the sky, striking fear into the hearts of all who witnessed it.

The Ministry of Magic had later released an official statement claiming that the masked wizards responsible for inciting the riots and chaos had managed to evade from Ministry's search and had conjured the Dark Mark only after everyone else had left the scene.

But this flimsy explanation could only serve to mislead young, inexperienced wizards and those unaware of the true nature of the Dark Mark. Anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about the British wizarding world's dark history would immediately see through the Ministry's desperate attempt to cover up the truth.

The Ministry had previously announced that Cliodna, the masked witch who Bryan Watson had defeated, along with her partners who had initially stirred up the riots, were nothing more than foolish admirers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. These dark wizards supposedly worshipped the various atrocities and crimes committed by You-Know-Who in the past, but had never actually witnessed his reign of terror firsthand. They were portrayed as bumbling, clumsy imitators impersonating as true followers of the Dark Lord.

However, the Dark Mark was not some common bit of magic that any second-rate dark wizard could conjure on a whim. Only You-Know-Who's innermost circle, his most loyal and trusted Death Eaters, possessed the knowledge to summon that symbol.

"Did you notice, Ron?" Hermione asked softly, her own mind swirling with doubts and suspicions. She lowered her head and her gaze was fixed on the scuffed toes of her shoes as she gathered her thoughts. After a moment of heavy silence, she continued in a barely audible whisper, "Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson seem very concerned about Mr. Crouch--"

"But it can't possibly be him, right?" Ron interjected, lowering his voice to a whisper to avoid drawing the attention of any passersby who might overhear them discussing a high-ranking Ministry official in such a manner. "Crouch only showed up after the Dark Mark had already appeared. He arrived with Dad and the others from the Ministry. There's no way he would have had time to do this--"

"I'm not saying Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson suspect Barty Crouch, Ron--" Hermione clarified, her brows knitting together in concentration as she tried to piece together the puzzle in her mind. "I know Crouch had no opportunity... Oh, and of course it couldn't have been Winky either, but--"

Hermione's words came slowly, hesitantly, as if she were carefully testing each one before allowing it to pass her lips, her own uncertainty was evident in her uncertain talking way. "Professor Watson seemed extremely interested in…. whether or not Barty Crouch actually attended the match. He and Professor Dumbledore kept repeatedly pressed us to confirm if anyone had been sitting in that seat Crouch had Winky saved for him--"

"But Crouch never even set foot in the Top Box," Ron pointed out as his freckled face scrunched up in confusion. "Harry already told them that, didn't he?"

"Just because Crouch himself didn't show up doesn't mean that seat was empty the entire time, Ron--" Hermione said, as a note of new horror crept into her voice as the implications of her own words began to sink in. "What if someone else had been sitting there all along, watching us?"

As the seriousness of Hermione's suggestion settled over them like a suffocating blanket, the color slowly drained from Ron's face. Harry, whose mood had already been soured by the earlier discussion about Fleur's intentions, looked ashen.

"Are you saying," Harry began slowly, his voice trembling slightly as he fought to keep it steady, "that there was someone else in the Top Box with us that whole time, someone we couldn't see because they were wearing an Invisibility Cloak?"

"And that this mysterious person was actually... a Death Eater?" Ron added, his eyes wide with disbelief and a hint of fear. "But wait, wasn't that seat supposedly being saved by that house-elf, Winky, for her master Barty Crouch? Do you even realize what you're implying here, Hermione? You're basically accusing Crouch of helping to hide a bloody Death Eater! If Percy ever heard you say something like that, he'd rip you to shreds--"

Hermione simply nodded, confirming Harry's suspicions about the presence of a hidden person lurking beneath an Invisibility Cloak there. However, she remained silent, offering no further speculation or theories for the moment.

If their worst fears proved to be true, if the seemingly empty seat beside Winky had indeed been occupied by an invisible figure, then how had Professor Watson and Professor Dumbledore managed to uncover this disturbing fact? They had left the school to investigate the matter further. Had they somehow tracked down this mysterious person or stumbled upon some other vital clue during their travels?

Perhaps others would eventually forget about the strange circumstances surrounding Hermione's selection as a Triwizard champion or simply accept it as an anomaly, but for Hermione herself, the questions and doubts have continued to bother her.

Even now, months later, there was still no clear explanation as to who had placed her name into the Goblet of Fire without her knowledge or consent. Professor Watson had cryptically said on the night of the champion selection, when the headmasters of several schools and the judges from the Ministry of Magic were discussing this matter in the room behind the Great Hall, that those with the skill and means to tamper with such a powerful magical artifact were all present in that very room!

Barty Crouch-- The name flashed through Hermione's mind like a lightning bolt, accompanied by a surge of disbelief and suspicion that she couldn't quite shake.

Was it possible that Barty Crouch himself had been the one to secretly slip her name into the Goblet of Fire?

No, surely not. On the night that Crouch had made his appearance at Hogwarts, the Goblet of Fire had been on display in the entrance hall for all to see. With so many eyes on it at all times, it would have been impossible for anyone to tamper with it without being noticed.

However, if things were really as she suspected, could the renowned high-ranking Ministry official actually have a secret connection with a Death Eater?

And if so, where might this dangerous Death Eater be hiding now? Hermione felt a chill run down her spine at the thought. Could they have somehow infiltrated Hogwarts, either acting on their own accord or under direct orders from Barty Crouch to enter her name into the Goblet?

This speculation was truly outrageous and absurd. Even in front of Harry and Ron, Hermione couldn't say it out loud.

Hermione's mind floated back to that night of the champion selection, when Professor Dumbledore had proposed a radical solution in the face of accusations and outrage from the visiting headmasters of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons...

To appease Karkaroff and Maxime's demands for fairness and equal representation, Dumbledore had suggested destroying the Goblet of Fire itself, thereby invalidating the magical contract binding the chosen champions to compete. This would have allowed Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor to proceed with the tournament as originally intended, while sparing Hermione from the unknown dangers that lay ahead.

At the time, Hermione had thought it was a rather well-adjusted solution to an impossible situation, with one obvious exception - the loss of the ancient, irreplaceable Goblet of Fire.

Interestingly enough, the person who had reacted most intensely to Dumbledore's radical proposal was none other than Barty Crouch Sr. He resolutely refused to even consider the idea of destroying Goblet of Fire, insisting that the selection of four champions, irregular though it may be, was nevertheless compulsory and absolute.

To calm the enraged visiting headmasters, Crouch had swiftly proposed a compromise - Hogwarts' final score in the tournament would be calculated as an average of Hermione and Cedric's individual performances.

From an objective standpoint, taking into Crouch's position as a representative of the Ministry and one of the key organizers of the Triwizard Tournament, his strong opposition to destroying the Goblet of Fire made perfect sense. After all, it would affect both him and the Ministry if such drastic measures were taken, possibly forming doubt on their ability to properly manage and oversee such a historic event.

However, connecting this to Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson's intense scrutiny of Crouch's actions both before and after the Dark Mark incident made Hermione's suspicions grow even stronger.

The Gryffindor common room was still lively with the sound of clinking glasses and wild laughter as the celebrating students continued to celebrate in Harry Potter's 'Good-Luck', though the initial enthusiasm had died down somewhat as the night grew.

The fire in the hearth burned as brightly as ever, but Hermione felt a bone-deep chill settle over her, one that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

What if Professor Dumbledore, while suggesting such an extreme course of action as destroying the Goblet of Fire, had actually been carefully gauging the reactions of those present?

Professor Dumbledore should have been able to anticipate that someone would disagree with destroying the Goblet of Fire, yet he still said it. Didn't this mean he was probing?

And Professor Watson's sharp comment about the culprit being among them that night... had that been also a deliberate attempt to flush out a hidden conspirator?

The more Hermione turned it over in her mind, the more she became convinced that the two wise, powerful wizards, had similar suspicions and were not likely to be mistaken in their judgment. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Watson were widely acknowledged as two of the most brilliant minds in the wizarding world today, and when they were in agreement on a matter, Hermione had learned to trust their judgement without any hesitation.

Professor Watson's cryptic statement... Professor Dumbledore's shocking suggestion, which now seemed more and more like a carefully laid trap or a test...

Hermione raised her head to look at Ron and Harry, and her face turned terrifyingly pale.

What if...what if her suspicions were correct, and Barty Crouch was not the upright, morally flawless Ministry official that the wizarding world believed him to be?

Was it possible that he, or perhaps the mysterious Death Eater she feared might be working in collusion with him, had been present in that room on the night of her selection, hiding in plain sight among the tournament organizers and Headmasters?

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